


The Cosmic Ballet Goes On

by Chash



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-18 19:53:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11881638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chash/pseuds/Chash
Summary: There's probably no need to start planning where to see the eclipse a year in advance, but Bellamy is secretly into it and Clarke is kind of stressing out about graduating and never seeing him again, so it's a good excuse to make sure they've got plans for the future.Not weird at all.





	The Cosmic Ballet Goes On

**Author's Note:**

> For [todayisthesortofday](http://todayisthesortofday.tumblr.com/)!

When Clarke tells Bellamy Raven's eclipse plan one afternoon at work, it's because she thinks it will amuse and slightly baffle him, as it did her. It makes sense, of course, that Raven is interested and making plans to get involved, but the thing wasn't even on Clarke's radar, and Raven already has an _eclipse plan_ , over a year away from the event.

But Bellamy gets the kind of shifty look in his eyes that means he's interested but doesn't want to admit it and asks, "Yeah? What plan?"

"She's actually volunteering with some astronomy professor in Oregon in exchange for room and board."

"I guess that's a specialized position," he says, and Clarke cocks her head at him.

About ninety percent of the time, Bellamy and Raven are different kinds of nerds. But she forgets that astronomy is where the Venn diagram of STEM and classics overlaps, at least for the two of them. They both think space is really fucking cool, even if Raven's interest is scientific and Bellamy's is mythological.

So of course he's into the eclipse. He _would_ be.

"Probably, yeah. But it's an eclipse. It's not hard to have a cool eclipse plan."

"No?"

"I bet we could get one."

He raises his eyebrows, and Clarke realizes she probably deserves it. After all, if it's weird that Raven has plans for the eclipse already, it's even weirder for Clarke to suggest that not only could she and Bellamy make those plans, but that they make those plans _together_. They'll both be done with school--Clarke will have her BA and Bellamy his masters'--and presumably no longer living in the same place. Even if they were, it's enough of a miracle that the world aligned correctly for the two of them to become friends two summers back, and she's always ready for it to fall through, either over the school year or when one of them gets another summer job. She calls him one of her best friends, when she talks about him, and he is, but it feels so fragile.

"You think a prof wants our help?" he asks.

Clarke clucks her tongue. "I can ask Raven. And it's not like we need to be working to make eclipse plans. We could just plan a road trip to somewhere with full coverage."

"A road trip from where, exactly?" he asks, and she elbows him.

"I'm trying to _help_. You're clearly into the eclipse. You even knew it was coming."

"You didn't?"

"I don't monitor upcoming cosmic events a year in advance."

"I just read something about it," he says, overly casual. "I don't know the exact date or anything."

"August 21," she says. "So we have a while to figure it out."

He ducks his head, smiling with half his mouth as he watches her. "So, this is a project now, right? Bellamy and Clarke's Eclipse Road Trip."

"It would be fun, right?"

"It would be," he agrees. "Keep me posted."

*

In Clarke's admittedly somewhat limited experience, there are a few different kinds of friendships in the world. In high school, she let TV and books convince her that the people she was close to would be her friends forever, but by the end of her freshman year of college, she realized they'd divided into three groups: the good ones, the bad ones, and the circumstantial ones. Wells was a good friend, someone she'll always be close to and love, whom she calls when they're both home, whom she sends links and weird memes that she thinks he might like. Monty's that kind of friend too, but his best friend Jasper was a circumstantial friend to her. She saw him when they were both home for spring break, and the only reason they were hanging out was that they had mutual better friends in common. She has nothing against Jasper, but if she never sees him again, she won't mind.

The bad friends are the ones who, in retrospect, hadn't treated her well, hadn't really been _friends_. Finn was the most obvious of those, the boy she'd been so sure she could spend the rest of her life with who'd turned out to be a lying asshole, but there were others too, people she got along with in high school for the sake of peace in the group, and once she was away from them, she realized she didn't actually _like_ them. 

She wants Bellamy Blake to be a new kind of friend: the kind she keeps close by. The kind she refuses to leave, because she wants him by her side.

"You want to fuck him," Raven tells her. "That's what's happening here."

"That's reductive," says Clarke. "I want to fuck him and then keep him."

"That's marriage. You want to marry him. You seriously want to use the eclipse as a seduction technique?"

"I want to make sure we keep seeing each other after we're done with school. August is two months after graduation, so--"

"And graduation is nine months from now, so that's plenty of time to just ask him out. Like I've been telling you to do basically ever since you met him."

"It's not like that," she protests. "I'm figuring it out, okay? I'm just asking if we can help out with your eclipse thing."

"You could, but I don't see why you'd want to. It's an eclipse, you don't need to buy tickets. Just get some glasses and look at it. If you don't get the science stuff, it's not actually exciting. I'll send you the list of places that are in totality, just pick one, take him there, and fuck him. Or propose, whatever," she adds, before Clarke can object. "Just do it away from witnesses."

"The list would be great, thanks," she says, and Raven shakes her head.

"Seriously, the relationship you are looking for with this guy is _romance_. It's not some weird new concept. Tale as old as time."

Clarke drops her head onto Raven's shoulder. "Happily ever after," she admits. "That's what I'm looking for."

"Yeah, okay. That's a lot harder. Start with the eclipse and go from there."

"Yeah," she agrees, smiling. "That's the plan."

*

"So, the eclipse," says Clarke, in October. She and Bellamy don't have any actual reason to hang out once the summer ends and they're not coworkers, but they both like doing work in the library, and they've agreed to do that together at least once a week. Clarke figures it's a good sign he'll be happy to prioritize still seeing her after graduation. If she can figure out how to do it.

"The one in, what, ten months?" he asks, not looking up from his laptop. "What about it?"

"I want to make a plan."

"Has anyone ever told you that you have a weird planning fetish? When you have sex, is there an agenda? Do you record minutes?"

"That's something you have to have sex with me to find out," she says, bright, and doesn't give him a chance to respond. "Seriously, it's on a Monday. I think we should figure out where we want to see it and make a plan."

He taps his pen on the table. "We can plan a place to see it, but it's not like we can make travel plans right now. Neither of us knows where we're going to be living on August 21, so it seems kind of early to book anything solid. But we could get an Airbnb now, if you're worried they're going to fill up." 

"Maybe check again in April?" she suggests. "That's still four months before the eclipse, but we'll have a better idea of where we're going to be after graduation and where we want to travel."

He nods. "Sure."

"That's it?"

"What?"

"You don't have to do this."

"This conversation is just getting weirder. Is this a test? Was I supposed to say no?"

"No, of course not. But if you want to make your own eclipse plans--"

"Yours are definitely going to be better." He pushes his glasses up, giving her a smile. "This is my first post-graduation trip so far. It sounds fun. Let's do it."

"Okay. I'm putting a reminder in my phone for April 15. We're doing this."

"I know we are," he says, but he's still smiling. "April 15 it is."

*

She doesn't forget about it, of course. The whole thing becomes tangled up in not only her relationship with Bellamy, but her entire relationship with graduation. Of course, it's not her only consideration, and she wouldn't turn down a good job that wanted her to work that day, but it's always there, at the back of her mind. Things she needs to do after graduation include deciding where to live, finding a job, and going to the eclipse with Bellamy. It's not a complete list, but all those things are tied up together, this odd unit of priorities.

So the alarm isn't a surprise in the abstract. She knew it was coming, just not the exact moment. Awkwardly, it goes off while she's making out with Niylah Forester in her room, which kind of kills the mood. Not that Niylah is now or has ever been looking for anything serious with Clarke, so she doesn't feel guilty, exactly, but it still seems impolite.

"I forgot I had an appointment today," she explains, pulling her shirt back on.

Niylah's smile is a little patronizing. "An appointment."

Clarke leans over and pecks her once. "You know there's an eclipse in August? My friend and I are making plans."

"Now?"

"Stuff's going to get booked. It's a big deal."

"Clearly. Call me later if you want to pick this up," she adds, which is basically Niylah for _no hard feelings_. Guilt and tension resolved; everyone's happy.

She's texting Bellamy before the door is even all the way closed.

**Me** : Do you know what today is?

**Bellamy** : According to a quick google search, Jackie Robinson Day  
Are we celebrating that this year?  
How do you celebrate that?

**Me** : Eclipse day

**Bellamy** : That's in August

**Me** : Eclipse PLANNING day  
Dick

**Bellamy** : Yeah I can't believe I forgot about the most important national holiday  
Where are you?  
Are you coming here or am I coming to you?

**Me** : As always, your place is better than the dorms  
Are you free now?

**Bellamy** : Working on grading  
Please come over  
I'm dying

**Me** : If I hated grading as much as you do I would probably rethink my dream of being a teacher

**Bellamy** : Thanks for your support  
Are you coming or what?

**Me** : On my way

She stops by the bakery near his place on the way and picks up cream puffs, because those are his favorite, and leans on the buzzer until he opens the door, scowling. He hasn't bothered changing out of his pajamas, even though it's almost two, and he's neither shaved nor put contacts in. 

All versions of Bellamy are her favorite, but this one is pretty great.

"You're an asshole," he says. "I fucking hate that noise."

"I got you a cream puff."

"You're still an asshole," he says, without missing a beat.

"True. How's grading?"

"No offense, but I hate undergrads. At least _my_ undergrads."

"So you don't hate me?"

"Not if you give me the cream puff."

Bellamy lives with three other people, in theory, but Clarke's never actually seen all of them at the same time. Murphy and Emori have the largest bedroom and work a bunch of bizarre, probably illegal part-time jobs with incoherent hours, and Jackson, an ER doctor whose shifts seem to be unscheduled, endless death marches for everyone involved. Bellamy works more than any other student Clarke knows, but he's still the only person here with anything resembling her idea of a normal human schedule.

Which is nice, because that means when she comes over, it still feels pretty private. No one else is around.

"What are you grading?" she asks, following him upstairs.

"Ancient civilizations. It's _April_ , they should fucking know how papers work by now."

"Seriously, does this ever make you rethink teaching as a profession?"

"If I do better with them in high school, future grad students will benefit."

"You bear it so they don't have to?"

He makes a face as he unlocks the door. "That's not how I'd put it, but sure, go with that. You want tea?"

"Please."

She grabs plates while he gets the tea, and the two of them settle in at the kitchen table. Bellamy's a big believer in eating at tables, which Clarke finds kind of endearing. She's a college student; there's nowhere she won't eat. But he likes meals to feel like meals.

"So, the eclipse," he says, once he's got water going. "We're still doing that?"

"Did you change your mind?"

"I didn't." He leans against the counter. "I thought you might. I didn't think you cared much about the eclipse. We can always find some other reason to hang out."

"I assume we'll keep hanging out after the eclipse," she says. "It'll be fun. If we can figure out where to go."

He clears his throat, awkward. "I might have an idea."

"Really?"

"I don't want to jinx it, but--I had a job interview on Wednesday."

Her jaw drops. "What? Where? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I really don't want to jinx it. But--they seemed to like me, I think I might get it. They said they'd tell me early this week. I was going to take you out to dinner to celebrate. Or commiserate, depending."

"That's awesome. Do you want to table this for after you know?"

"No, I think I'm--" He rubs the back of his neck. "My sister is transferring to GW, so I'm pretty settled on the DC metro area."

"Oh."

It's not totally a surprise, and it's not even _bad_. But Clarke was always a west-coast girl, and part of her assumed she'd go back there after graduation. And if Bellamy had gone to California or something, then it could have been a coincidence, their ending up in the same place. Now if she looks in DC, she's looking where Bellamy _is_ , a deliberate choice instead of a chance.

But she could still check jobs.

"I know that's sad--"

"No!" she says, quick. And then, "Okay, a little."

He laughs. "Thanks."

"It's not, really. It's just--it's weird that you know where you're going. And applying for jobs."

"Yeah, well, I went directly to grad school after college because I wasn't ready to enter the workforce, so I had some extra time to figure it out." 

"And you did."

"Grading for the rest of my life, yeah."

"Okay, so--you'll be in DC. That's great. We can definitely plan the eclipse from there."

He puts her mug in front of her with a smile. "Yeah?"

"I can fly out to you and then we drive to North Carolina or Tennessee or somewhere."

"Drive?"

"I know you like driving more than flying. And it's not that bad a drive. Looks like nine hours to the part of North Carolina that's getting totality, so--"

Bellamy's still smiling as she checks her phone. "So, we're really doing this."

"I guess if school starts before then we can't," she muses.

"Not until after Labor Day, I think. If I get this job."

"So we can get an Airbnb after that. Once you find out."

"If you want."

"This is a once in a lifetime experience, Bellamy. I don't want to miss it."

"So we'll see if I get the job." He taps the rim of his teacup. "I guess that means we don't have anything else to plan today."

"I guess not."

"You want to watch Netflix while I grade anyway?"

"That lonely?"

He shrugs one shoulder. "Did you have other plans?"

She was, technically, about to get laid before this, and Niylah would probably still be up for an afternoon of fooling around. It would be fun, and probably in some biological sense more enjoyable than hanging out on Bellamy's couch yelling at whatever weird low-budget movie he finds to get upset at. Orgasms are great.

But she can have them by herself. And Bellamy is Bellamy.

"Nope," she says. "Netflix sounds great."

*

He gets the job, and Clarke books an Airbnb in Nashville. It's a longer drive, but more populated, and they figure she can fly to him on Friday, they can drive to Tennessee on Saturday, do some sight-seeing, and she can either go back to DC with him or fly out of Nashville, depending on what her employment situation looks like.

"Does the Airbnb only have one bed?" Raven asks. She's a year older than Clarke, so she graduated and moved to a grad school program of her own, but they still Skype regularly. Raven is definitely a friend she's keeping. "Is that the plan? You guys have to share, one thing leads to another--"

"Two beds."

"Wuss."

"He's going to DC," she says. "And I'm going to spend the summer doing an internship in California and then--who knows."

"Yeah, if only there was some way to communicate with people across the country. Or, like, a billion. Long distance is a thing, Clarke. If you tell him, like, literally as soon as we hang up you've still got like three weeks to have sex in person before you guys move out. And then again in August. And, you know, Skype. If you don't mind the NSA watching."

"I can't tell if you're actually trying to be supportive or what."

"Yeah, but not very hard. I really do think you should ask him out," she adds. "I've only met him like five times, but he's stupid hot and looks at you like he's always about ten seconds from proposing. Don't throw this one away because you're worried about fucking _geography_."

Clarke sighs. "I'm not. Really. I'm just figuring out what to say to him. No one _likes_ confessing crushes, right?"

"No," Raven grants. "But, seriously. I know it's harder to be sure about this stuff when it's you, so I'm telling you right now: _I'm_ sure he likes you too. I'd put money on it."

"Cool." She exhales. "I'll tell him at the eclipse."

"It might be too late then," she says.

"It could already be too late. I want to see what it's like being away from him," she admits. "Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's nothing."

"Maybe," says Raven, with no conviction. "I guess you'll find out."

*

**Me** : I don't know how to have a summer job without you

**Bellamy** : I don't know how to not have a summer job  
I'm going to see if I can pick something up  
Like bagging groceries, I don't even care  
I already cleaned and reorganized my grandmother's entire house  
She's going to murder me if I don't come up with something else to do

**Me** : I was going to be surprised that you couldn't deal with a month of downtime  
But I've met you so never mind

**Bellamy** : Yeah  
How's the internship?  
Aside from not having me  
Any chance they'll hire you for real?

**Me** : My mom wants that, but I don't know if I can stay here  
It's too weird

**Bellamy** : Weird?

**Me** : It doesn't feel like home anymore  
It's not me  
Like wearing clothes that don't fit

**Bellamy** : Yeah, I get that  
Any luck with the job search?

**Me** : I'm applying to things  
Does that count as luck?

**Bellamy** : Are you hearing back?

**Me** : Not yet

**Bellamy** : Fuck, that sucks  
Well, there are a lot of museums in DC  
I'm just saying  
If you get job interviews there, I'm planning to have a couch

**Me** : I did find a couple things in DC  
I'll let you know if I need your couch

**Bellamy** : Literally any time

*

If Bellamy has a significant other by the time the eclipse rolls around, he makes no mention of it. Clarke's done with her own internship, so she's planning to stay for a week or so, and it feels like the kind of thing he _would_ have mentioned when that plan comes up, if not sooner. Something like _sure you can sleep on my couch but my boyfriend might be around_ or _I can't wait for you to meet my new girlfriend_.

He's only been there for a month and a half, anyway. He probably doesn't even have _friends_ yet. Based on his texts, he's mostly been working on lesson plans and getting angry at Hearthstone.

Same old Bellamy.

He doesn't have a car, so Clarke rented one for the visit, and she drives herself to his place, for all she's vaguely exhausted. He's in Alexandria, living in a nice little one-bedroom apartment he's sent pictures of with no roommates and a cat. He feels like an adult, which makes sense; he's older than she is, more sure of his place in the world.

But it feels like the adult life she'd like too.

He's sitting on the front steps when she gets in around eight, looking about as she remembered. Jeans, faded gray t-shirt, contacts in but unshaven. Barefoot, which is cute. He's weirdly opposed to shoes.

He grins when she gets out of the car, wraps her up in a hug that makes her melt. It's only been a few months, but it's actually the longest she's ever gone without seeing him since they met, she realized on her way to the airport. She spent summers before working next to him in the art-history department, and now it's been almost two months.

She missed him so much.

"Hey," she says.

"Hey. This eclipse thing was a really good idea."

"I thought so."

He leaves his arm around her shoulders as he grabs her bag and takes her up to the apartment, and Clarke is a little tempted to just kiss him _now_ , pull him down and find out if his mouth is as warm as she thinks, if he'd smile into her mouth.

But as soon as the door opens, there's a cat yowling at them, and she's worn out anyway, and Bellamy is bustling her onto the couch to eat something, and then showing her where the shower is and making her take his bed.

"Bellamy--"

"Seriously, you're jetlagged and worn out and we have to drive tomorrow. You need a good night's sleep more than I do."

"How big is your bed?" she asks, just to see what he'll say, and he smiles.

"The couch is fine, thanks. Get some sleep."

"You know my body thinks it's three hours _earlier_ , right?"

"You know you're yawning, right?"

"Flying is stressful."

He tucks her hair behind her ear, smiling softly, and she would love to drag him to the bed. Not to get laid, just to be near him. "Go to sleep, Clarke. We've got an early start in the morning."

"I missed you," she says, and he gives her shoulder a small squeeze. He seems to be having trouble not touching her, which is encouraging. She hopes it keeps up.

"Yeah, I missed you too."

She brushes her teeth and gets changed into pajamas and does her very best to go to sleep, for all it's just past seven at home. She _is_ tired, and it's later here, but she's lying in Bellamy's bed feeling stupidly awake, trying not to remember that he's right outside, that she could be with him.

_No way I'm not jumping him by the end of the week_ , she texts Raven, and drags herself back out to the couch.

"Don't tell me to go to bed, just let me fall asleep on you while we watch Netflix, okay?"

His mouth tugs up in a smile, and he lifts his arm so she can settle in against his side. 

"Just like old times," he teases, and she closes her eyes.

"So close."

*

Clarke understands the importance of cars to the American dream or whatever, what they represent in the national psyche or whatever. Cars are freedom and independence and, for some people, penis extensions. Either way, they're a big deal.

But Clarke's never related to that much _personally_. Road trips are one of those things that her high school and college friends would get excited about while Clarke just remembered the misery of driving up to visit her grandparents in Seattle. It wasn't fun or romantic, it was just _long_.

And despite her overall fondness for Bellamy, that's how it is going to Tennessee, too. There's some decent landscape and it's a nice day for it, but mostly it's just almost twelve hours on the road, between meals and breaks. They listen to Al Franken's book on tape and bicker about missing turns and it's not really great, but it's _comfortable_. It feels like they've done this a lot, and it's so easy to imagine this as their life.

She knows she's getting ahead of herself, but it's hard not to. All she thinks about these days is her uncertain future, and here's exactly what she wants, so close she can taste it.

Sunday is more of the same, wandering around Nashville together, checking out museums, talking in quiet tones about which statues should be ripped down, and all the other better things that they could be replaced with.

"But then as a teacher though you'll never be able to talk about the Civil War," she teases. "Since that's the only way we can ever understand history." 

He rolls his eyes. "Yeah, statues are my main teaching tool. They're a pain to bring in to the classroom, but how else would we know which racist traitors we're still okay with?"

"There's literally no other way to know," she agrees, and elbows him. "How's the lesson planning going, by the way? You always say fine and change the subject when I ask."

"It is fine, just--weird. I wasn't expecting to be teaching in a political climate like this. That's, uh--another reason I wanted to be in the DC area. I couldn't handle the deep south, but I'm hoping I can make a difference in Virginia. Teach some conservative kids to be liberal and not hate all brown people."

"You will," she says, and he smiles. 

"Your support is appreciated." He glances at her. "Anything in the job search?"

"I don't want to jinx it," she says, and he smiles.

"I jinxed mine and got it."

"So I'll tell you when I get an interview," she says, and she doesn't mean it to be much of a promise, but she somehow gets the call the next day, while they're waiting for the eclipse.

They picked a part to hang out in, and it feels like the right choice. Busy, but not too busy, with a good buzz of excited chatter. It's strangely heartwarming, a moment of human connection that Clarke wasn't expecting. She didn't think _everyone_ was going to be this into the whole thing, and it's easy to get caught up in it.

Even easier because Bellamy has finally stopped being able to play it cool and is all giddy, geeky enthusiasm, talking about actual _science shit_ , as well as historical eclipses, the ways people interpreted these things before they knew what was happening, all this knowledge that he's apparently had bottled up inside him and can no longer keep to himself.

She adores him.

Her phone rings half an hour before totality, and she wants to ignore it, but she recognizes the number, and she doesn't want to miss out on a job, not even for an eclipse. That's been the policy right from the start.

Besides, she has some time to spare.

"Everything okay?" Bellamy asks, as she makes to pick up.

"Yeah, give me a sec. I won't miss it," she adds, when he frowns. "I just need to take this."

She steps away from the crowd, which isn't thick enough she won't be able to hear Bellamy, but is too rowdy for her to hear in. It's Anya, the woman she had her phone interview with last week, and she starts with an apology.

"I hope I didn't interrupt the eclipse."

"Not yet, but I'm in Nashville waiting for it. Totality in just about half an hour, so--"

"So I'll be quick. You said you're in DC for the rest of the week?"

"Driving back tomorrow and leaving Friday, yeah."

"We'd like to bring you in for an interview while you're in town. Wednesday or Thursday?"

"Yeah," she says. "My friend's working, so my days are flexible. I can make whatever time works best for you."

Anya hums. "Wednesday at one? It shouldn't take more than two hours, at the most."

"That's perfect, yeah. I wanted to check out museums while I was in town anyway."

"Good. I'll send an email with directions and you can get back to me after the eclipse if you have any questions."

"Sounds good. I'm looking forward to meeting you."

"Same. See you Wednesday. Enjoy the show."

She stares at the phone in shocked disbelief for a second, but then she tugs herself out of her daze and makes her way back to Bellamy. His attention is torn between the sky and the crowd, at least until he sees her, and his face brightens beneath his ridiculous glasses.

"I thought you were going to miss it. Nothing bad? Your mom?"

"No, nothing bad." She ducks her head, smile splitting her face. "I have an interview at the National Museum of Women in the Arts on Wednesday."

He freezes, just for a second. "The one in DC?"

"That's where a lot of the national museums are, yeah," she teases. "I told them I'd be in town this week, so I was hoping they'd--"

His mouth on hers isn't a total surprise, because his hands cup her face and then he leans in, but it all happens quickly enough that she's still reeling a little, not quite caught up to the reality of the situation.

Not until he makes to pull back, at least, and she grabs the front of his t-shirt, holding him close as she kisses back. She might not have been expecting it, but she's here for this, for the smile she can taste on his lips, the softness of his hair under her fingers when her hands stray up. It's a kiss she's been waiting for for years, and it doesn't disappoint.

Someone's cheer startles them apart, and she remembers that they're in the middle of a crowd, waiting for a major cosmic event.

But all she can really see is Bellamy's smile.

"Uh, congratulations," he says, awkward, and she laughs and slumps against his chest, basking in the feel of his arms wrapped around her.

"Thanks."

"I've been having to resist the urge to send you job listings in DC. And more pictures of the apartment."

"Pictures of the apartment?"

He clears his throat. "I can afford it on my own, but a roommate would help. Assuming they didn't mind the one bed thing."

She presses her lips to his chest. "Are you trying to ask me to move in with you?"

"For like a fucking year, yeah. You don't have to, obviously. Get your own place, I won't mind, just--I missed you."

Clarke turns so she's leaning back against his chest, and his arms wrap around her waist again, his nose in her hair. He really _does_ want to touch her as much as she wants to touch him; it's the best day ever.

"I've been planning the eclipse-viewing for a year so I was sure I'd have a reason to see you after graduation, remember?" she says. "When can I move in?"

"After this," he says, pressing his lips to her hair. "I want to see the totality first."

"Nerd," she says, but she's looking at the sky too, watching the moon make its way across the sun. It _is_ cool. And even better with his arms around her.

"You knew that when you decided to seduce me with a fucking eclipse."

"I did. But I didn't know it was going to work."

"You didn't really have to do anything special." He tugs her closer. "But I appreciate the effort."

"You're worth it."

They fall silent as the totality hits, the surreal darkness making her shiver even in the warm embrace of his arms. It's eerie and awesome and impressive, and there's no one else she'd rather share it with in the world.

Seriously, best day ever.

*

"Okay, so, 2024," says Clarke.

Bellamy looks up from his grading, raising his eyebrows. Clarke's job is in full swing, her boxes are unpacked, and the cat has mostly accepted that she lives here and will take up space in the bed. They're settled. They're great.

"Is that the app with the numbered boxes?" he asks. 

"The next total solar eclipse. We need to start planning."

"I don't think Airbnb lets you book seven years in advance. Set a reminder for sometime in 2023 and we can look then."

"But you're in, right? Bellamy and Clarke's Eclipse Road Trip Part Two."

"You don't even like road trips."

"It's a tradition now."

"Doing something once doesn't make it a tradition, Clarke."

"That's why we're planning the second time. To make it a tradition." She puts her head on his shoulder, and he kisses her hair. "Come on, we're doing this again, right? You totally want to."

"Yeah," he says. "I wouldn't be anywhere else."


End file.
